Improvement in car-starters



S. S. VOLLUM.

CAR-STARTER.

Patented Jan.30,1877.

Inventor Witnesses SAMUEL S. VOLLUM, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT lN CAR-STARTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 186,908, dated January30, 1877; application filed October 7, 1876.

San Francisco, California, have invented an Improved Street-Car Brakeand 1 do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanyingdrawings.

My invention relates to an improved arrangement for operating brakes onstreet-cars, and also to the combination, with said brakeoperatingmechanism, of a device for enabling the driver or other person standingon the platform of the car to assist the horses in starting the car intomotion from a state of rest.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a transverse sectionof the car. Fig. 2 is a view of the bottom, showing the gearing.

Let A represent the frame of a streetcar. B B are the supporting-wheels, and C the axles which connect them. On each end of the car,where the upright brake-shaft and hand-wheel are usually applied, Isecure to the floor of the platform an upright hollow standard, D. Ashaft, E, passes upward through this hollow standard, and has a hand-wheel, F, secured to its upper end above the hollow standard, while thelower end of the shaft projects below the floor of the car, and has asmall bevel-wheel, Gr, secured to it. To the under side of the car,below this standard, and at a suitable distance apart, I secure twodepending standards or hangers, H H, the lower ends of which serve asbearings for a horizontal shaft, I. A large bevel-wheel, J, is securedupon this shaft, so as to engage with the bevel-wheel G on the lower endof the upright shaft E, so that when the shaft E is turned by means ofthe hand-wheel F the motion will be transmitted through the gears to thehorizontal shaft below. Upon the shaft I, next to the bevel-wheel J, isa spool or loose pulley, K, one side of which forms one-half of aclutch. The chain L, which operates the brake-bars and brakes, isattached to this spool. On the opposite end of the shaft I is a loosechain pulley, M, the hub N of which also forms the half of a clutch. Ois a sliding clutch, which moves on a feather on the shaft I, betweenthe spool K and hub N, so that by moving it in one direction it engageswith the halfclutch of the spool, and winds up the brake-chain when theshaft 1 is rotated, and, when moved in the other direction, it engageswith the half-clutch of the hub N, and causes the chain-pulley to rotatewhile the loose spool K remains stationary. A chainpulley, P, is securedon the axle C in line with the pulley M, and an endless-link chain, Q,passes around them, the links of which engage with spurs on the wheels,so that when the pulley M is rotated by means of the hand-wheel F andshafts E and I the axle C will also be rotated, and the car drivenforward by hand-power.

The sliding clutch'O is operated by a threearmed lever, P, which isattached by a central pivot to the inside of the end timber. Two arms ofthis lever project up through the floor of the platform, while the thirdextends down and is connected with the sliding clutch, so that thedriver can, by pressing upon the upper projecting ends of the levers,throw the clutch in either direction into connection with either of thehalf clutches, as desired. A ratchet-wheel, S, is attached to the upperend of the upright shaft E, directly below the hand-wheel, and alever-arm, T, is secured loosely upon the shaft beside the ratchetwheel,so as to project out beyond the handwheel. A spring-pawl, U, is attachedto the hand-lever, so as to engage with the ratchetwheel. This leverserves to aid the driver in rotating the shaft E, in the manner ofoperating a capstan, when additional power is required to aid instarting the car.

I thus provide a device for enabling the driver not only to operate thebrakes readily, but also to help the horses start the car.

This car starting device will be especially useful in case the horses,or either of them, should balk or refuse to pull, as the driver canstart the car himself, and thus relieve the horses of the strain untilit gets started, which will generally start the balky horse to work, andin case of accident to the brakes on a side hill or incline, as oftenhappens, the chain will enable the driver to hold the car until thewheels are blocked, and thus avoid an accident.

In the present. instance I have represented my car-brake and starterattachment as applied to one end of the car only, but, in practice, itwill be applied at both ends of the car, so that the brake andcar-starter can be operated at either end.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The upright shaft E, supported in the upright hollow standard D, andhaving the hand-wheel F on its upper end and bevelwheel G on its lowerend, in combination with the horizontal shaft I, with its bevel-wheel J,spool K, and clutch 0, said clutch being operated by the footlever B,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The horizontal shaft I, supported beneath the car, parallel with theaxle O, and having a chain-pulley, M, secured upon it, said chainpulleybeing connected, by means of an endless chain, Q, or equivalent device,with a chain pulley, P, on the axle, in combination with the slidingclutch O, bevel-wheel J, and upright shaft E, with its hand-wheel F andbevel gear wheel G, all combined and arranged substantially as and forthe purpose described.

3. A car-starter arranged to be operated by the driver of the car byapplying hand-power to the brake-wheel F, and transmitting the same bymeans of suitable mechanism to a chain pulley, M, which is connected, byan endless chain, Q, with a chain pulley, P, on the axle O, or by otherequivalent connection, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

SAMUEL s. VOLLUM. 1,. s. j

Witnesses:

0. T. STACEY, W. B. SCHWARTZ.

